House builds and flat conversions
It's not always necessary to buy a house in order to enter the property market. You can also build your own home, or develop an existing property
Q: BASICALLY we are building a new house in our corner site which we plan to sell in a couple of years. The house size is approx 200 sqm.
From an investment point of view I'd like to know which would be the better option: a four-bed house with all rooms en suite or a five-bed house with three en suite (one of the bedrooms is the attic). I'd really appreciate any advice you have,
Caroline, Dublin.
A: THE rule of thumb is that the more bedrooms a property is equipped with, the higher the price it can command in today's property market.
While a large number of en suites is attractive to a prospective buyer and will add value, the standard metric for valuations is in terms of square footage and the number of bedrooms.
The house that you describe would be ideal for a family, where bedrooms and usable space are the main consideration.
Q: I AM building a new house and am trying to choose between timber frame or concrete built. I am unsure of the benefits of timber frame - can you please advise?
Joel, Cork.
A: THERE are varying opinions on timber frame versus concrete built houses. Benefits listed for the former include reduced energy bills (some claim by up to 40%), a more Eco-friendly design and the speed of their construction. It is in the latter that you would expect to make initial savings.
A recent survey by Onlinetradesmen.com showed that the average cost for building a new home in Ireland is €140 per sq ft, if you compare this with prices quoted by timber frame suppliers there are significant variances. Our advice in the matter would be to contact one of the reputable timber frame companies and compare their schedules and costs with those involved in the more traditional bricks and mortar approach.
Q: I HAVE a studio apartment which I would like to renovate. It is a ground floor one room with separate bathroom and kitchen and I would like to reclaim enough space to have a separate bedroom.
This would be possible to do in the kitchen if I did not lose a lot of space to an unvented hot water system with two huge tanks.
I could then have an open plan kitchen with living/dining in the main room.
The mains pipes come down into the tanks on the kitchen wall adjacent to the bathroom I only need the system for hot water. Is there a more space efficient way to give me hot water? Both gas and electricity are available.
Philip, Kerry.
A: IT APPEARS that the size of the hot water system that you currently have installed is excessive relative to the size of your property.
This is most likely down to the age of the unit - modern water heaters are generally more compact.
The first question to ask yourself is what are your water usage requirements going forward?
This will dictate the physical size of the unit you are looking for and the space that you can free up. As a rule of thumb an average person uses about 50 litres of hot water per day and this, along with the speed at which the water can be heated by your new tank, will dictate size of a unit.
So for one resident a 80 ltr (generally the smallest available unit) tank would suffice with heating capacity of 31.5 Kw. Units with these characteristics can have the following dimensions: 850mm H x 500mm W x 500mm D.
If you use these as a guideline you can work out how much additional space you can make in removing the existing unit.
It is very important however that you comply to all the relevant safety guidelines in doing so and use the services of an authorised installer.
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